Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Lindbrook Capital LLC

Lindbrook Capital LLC lessened its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,489 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 265 shares during the quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Tobam acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 196.8% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.08.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $127.00 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $116.84 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The company has a market capitalization of $40.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $132.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.45.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. On average, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.